The region’s theatre-goers no doubt love Shakespeare, but this season they loved the weather forecast a great deal less.

As the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival wraps up its 16th season Saturday, organizers are looking back on a season during which fear of The Tempest kept many from seeing As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew.

“Season of Love” was the theme for this summer’s offering, which has featured two very different plays on romantic themes.

While precise attendance figures for the season won’t be available for weeks, festival general manager James Richardson said Friday the number is somewhat down from last year.

“The constant threat of weather has been very difficult,” he said. Richardson pointed to a trend among outdoor theatre patrons he has seen in the past three or four years.

“People see that there’s potential threat of rain and they’re actually changing their plans based on that as opposed to in the moment,” said Richardson.

“We literally will have people calling us: ‘I hear it’s possibly going to rain next Tuesday. Are you going to do the show?” he said.

Worries over the weather are nothing new for the festival. (In 2008, Peter van Gestel famously shook his fist at the sky before one threatened performance.)

However, as of Friday, the festival had only cancelled two performances because of rain.

On other occasions, as during Wednesday evening’s performance of As You Like It, volunteers went around the amphitheatre handing out umbrellas, leaving many in the audience to conclude that fears over the weather were Much Ado About Nothing.

While it was too early to determine the percentage of decline over last year, Richardson is optimistic the damage won’t be severe.

“We’re definitely not in a danger zone.”

Artistic director Richard Sheridan Willis said other factors, such as other events in nearby communities, may have contributed to lower attendance earlier in the season, adding that, toward the end, the turnout was where organizers wanted it to be or better.

“It’s not been bad,” said Willis.

Along with grumbling about the weather, the controversial ending monologue in Taming of the Shrew elicited some complaints from audience members.

Kate (Rose Napoli) and Petruchio (Jamie Mac) kiss at the end of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival’s production of The Taming of the Shrew. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)BT

Kate’s monologue “made them sit up,” said Richardson, adding the play was intended to shock.

But many more people found the play, in which the 1980s setting led to additional comedic moments, “wonderful and fun,” he said.

Shrew “sort of polarizes people” Willis agreed, adding a majority of people enjoyed the play.

“I always think it’s a great conversation to have,” he said.

This was the first season with Willis as artistic director.

“This was a transitional year, a learning year,” said Richardson, adding organizers will now take stock of those lessons.

In keeping with tradition – and weather permitting – Willis will announce next season’s two productions at Saturday night’s closing performance.

Meanwhile, the festival moved its Monday Night Live series to a storefront location, the heritage Glasgow House on King Street West, and the performances were all sold out, said Willis.

And while the main stage season is done for the year, the festival continues next week with a community play, Oliver.

More than 50 community members, including many from Brockville, will perform the musical version of Dickens’ Oliver Twist on August 24 and 25.